From the archive: Fermentation, fire, and our big brains - Many Minds
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- From the archive: Fermentation, fire, and our big brains
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- <p class="MsoNormal">Hi friends,</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We're taking care of some spring cleaning this week. We'll be back in two weeks with a new episode. In the meantime, enjoy this favorite from our archives!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">- The Many Minds team</p> <p class="MsoNormal">–––––––––</p> <p class="MsoNormal">[<em>originally aired February 22, 2024</em>]</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Brains are not cheap. It takes a lot of calories to run a brain, and the bigger your brain, the more calories it takes. So how is it that, over the last couple million years, the human brain tripled in size. How could we possibly have afforded that? Where did the extra calories come from? There's no shortage of suggestions out there. Some say it was meat; others say it was tubers; many say it was by mastering fire and learning to cook. But now there's a newer proposal on the table and—spoiler—it's a bit funky.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">My guests today are <a href= "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-hGZw3cAAAAJ&hl=en">Katherine Bryant</a>, Postdoctoral Fellow at Aix-Marseille University, and <a href= "https://heb.fas.harvard.edu/people/erin-hecht">Erin Hecht</a>, Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard. Katherine, Erin, and another colleague are the authors of <a href= "https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05517-3">a new paper</a> titled 'Fermentation technology as a driver of human brain expansion.' In it, they argue that fermented foods could have provided the caloric boost that allowed our brains to expand.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here, we talk about how the human body differs from the bodies of other great apes, not just in terms of our brains but also in terms of our bowels. We discuss the different mechanisms by which fermented foods provide nutritional benefits over unfermented foods. We consider how fermentation—which basically happens whether you want it to or not—would have been cognitively easier to harness than fire. Along the way, we touch on kiviaq, chicha, makgeolli, hákarl, natto, Limburger cheese, salt-rising bread, and other arguably delectable products of fermentation. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is a fun one friends. But before we get to it: a friendly reminder about this summer's Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute. This a yearly event in St Andrews, Scotland; it features a rich program of lectures and events devoted to the study of cognition, mind, and intelligence in all its forms. If you have a taste for cross-disciplinary ferment and bubbly conversation, DISI may be for you. The application window is now open but is closing soon. You can find more info at <a href= "http://disi.org/">DISI.org</a>. That's D-I-S-I.org.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Alright, friends, on to my conversation with Erin Hecht and Katherine Bryant. Enjoy! </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> A transcript of this episode is available <a href= "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FM-HD9ZsLg1e_kpttw0s1jjJZ0iFifHb/view?usp=sharing">here</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><em><u>Notes and links</u></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal">3:00 – A <a href= "https://www.popsci.com/article/science/clostridium-it-can-kill-you-or-it-can-make-you-bread/">popular science article</a> about the “infectiously delicious confection” that is salt-rising bread. A <a href= "https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2013/11/07/classic-american-salt-rising-bread">recipe</a> for the bread. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">6:00 – An <a href= "https://www.eater.com/drinks/2017/2/20/14645442/makgeolli-korean-rice-wine">article</a> about makgeolli, a Korean rice wine. An article about <a href= "https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230327-chicha-the-banned-drink-of-colombia">chicha</a>, the traditional corn-based fermented beverage that has been banned in some places.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">11:30 – An <a href= "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.672665/full">article</a> about the role of the arcuate fasciculus in lan
- Publication Date
- 2025-03-19T23:01:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/from-the-archive-fermentation-fire-and-our-big-brains
- Length
- 65:35
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- /podcasts/Many Minds/1742425260-5037.mp3
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- 90.08 MB
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- 187-CBR
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- 1
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